84% of your Facebook Fans Won’t See Your Page Posts

Facebook made a major move to increase revenue recently with Promoted Posts (not the same as a Facebook ad). If you have a Facebook Page for your business, you may have noticed that your Page stats (number of new fans, reach and frequency, etc) have been edging southward. For example, a typical Page post might have garnered a couple of hundred views on a fan base of 800 with a moderately engaged audience and above-average content several months ago. That same Page is seeing reach numbers in the double digits (i.e. 63 views).

I just completed a Facebook Page Promoted Posts test in which I updated the same post about an upcoming C3 LinkedIn Training class as a regular post and as a Promoted post. I found a major difference in organic and viral reach with the paid post (much higher!). In fact, the Promoted Post (a mere $5 outlay) brought in 851% more total views than the non-promoted post with identical content. I had zero viral reach for the non-promoted post, only organic (original) Page fans, while the Promoted post had several hundred viral viewers. (Check this out for information on the difference between organic, viral and paid reach.) Post analytics will also point out how many of the views were paid views. It’s interesting that my organic views (original fans) were much higher than the non-promoted organic views for the post, emphasizing the point that Facebook adjusted the Edgerank algorithm to allow more of my current fan base to see the post in their news feed as when the post was not promoted.

It’s really too bad that Page owners won’t be able to use Edgerank to drive frequency and reach with engaging content as they could prior to FB’s current quest to drive monetization.

I think this will have a huge effect on small businesses. Every business, regardless of size, will need to set aside part of their marketing budget to allocate to Facebook advertising or risk having only 16% of their user base see posts shared by the Page.

If this sounds like Farsi to you, then perhaps a Facebook Page Marketing consult should be in your future. We are happy to get your business/organization up to speed on the recent changes to Facebook Page Marketing. Just contact us here.

I am appalled at the recent attacks on our privacy rights. From the Cincinnati divorced dad who spoke out against his wife’s actions on Facebook in “Friends” mode with the ex blocked from seeing any of his Facebook actions and was later court-ordered to publicly apologize for a month on his Wall or go to jail to the recent reports of companies who are requiring recruits to hand over their social network logins and passwords. As many know, I am a huge proponent for reputation management and teaching social networking users that anything they put out there may become fodder for the world despite iron clad privacy settings. Despite having squeaky clean content, I believe that NO ONE has the right to demand or seize access to my content without my permission.

A company doesn’t have the right to look at the portions of my Facebook profile that are not accessible via public view. They should not have access to photos of my children, family relationships, statements on my Wall made by friends or family members or my “private” thoughts. I listened to Mark Byron, who will probably go down in history as “The Facebook Dad”, being interviewed on WLW radio yesterday as he shared the full story of what transpired in his case. You can read his story here. Mark concludes the interview by stating that in his estimation, the issue is that the magistrate handling the case lacked an understanding of just how Facebook works.

My company, C3. Creating Connections Consulting, LLC provides social media training for area businesses and organizations, and I intimately know the inner workings of social networking sites like Facebook. It is because of this professional knowledge, that I have created reputation management and social networking safety programs for area colleges, high schools and parenting groups. What I have found over the years, is that many people do not have a full understanding of how these platforms work, how to adjust privacy settings or even that some of the applications that they integrate into their social networking site (i.e Farmville, Zynga games, contests, etc.) retain access to their private information regardless of their privacy settings.

Slide from C3 Online Safety/Reputation Management Seminar Cincinnati

Facebook changes constantly and at times seemingly on a whim. This makes it very difficult for the passive user or even the non-user who has responsibility for those who do (parents, teachers, etc.) to keep up with potential changes that might open up personal profile information to the public. We are not living in a world where once something has been downloaded, installed, or added to our devices we can sit back and assume that it will remain the same. We need to check for changes on a regular basis (I suggest monthly) and read the TOS (Terms of Service) agreement like we are studying for our driver’s exam.

Both of these cases/stories have huge implications for privacy protection and freedom of speech in the United States.

This week in the world of digital:

Pinterest

Pinterest creates controversy with their TOS causing many creatives like photographers to leave the platform. Read more here.

Facebook

Facebook announced at FMC12 that Timeline will be automatically activated on 3/30/12 for Pages. This surprise timing move is causing companies to revamp their Pages and applications to fit the new specs. Timeline will allow for new ways to market Pages and include a host of changes that admin need to be aware of. Excellent article by Social Media Examiner discussing key things you need to know to market with Timeline here.

SXSW Interactive Conference:

South by Southwest (SXSW) is the annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival held in Austin, Texas. Historically, start-up companies have used SXSW to either launch their apps or services or gain exposure to a wider audience. Notable start-ups coming out of SXSW include Twitter and Foursquare. Follow mRank Leaderboard to see which companies are generating buzz at the conference. Read full article here.

Guest Blog:

What is Pinterest?

Mackenzie's Pinterest

Pinterest is an online pinboard that allows people to organize collections of pictures by their respective categories. The three main concepts on Pinterest are repinning, liking, and commenting. When you repin a picture from another user’s pictures, it goes onto your own boards. The point of Pinterest is to have many different boards in all different categories, for example one might have a board for all fashion and clothes pictures, or a board of beautifully photographed flowers. Then, when you click on a picture on the dashboard of Pinterest it allows you to repin it. Simply click on the board you would like the pin to go onto! You can also name each of your categorized boards, for example a wedding planner might have multiple boards all under the category of wedding, but one would be for dresses, one for food, and one for décor.

To actually obtain these pictures to repin you must follow other users of Pinterest. When you create an account (after being sent an invite by a previous user or being on the waiting list from the company) Pinterest automatically connects your account with your Facebook friends who use Pinterest or with other famous users who have boards that mirror your interests. This easy set up allows you to start pinning right away! Another way of posting pictures is by downloading the pinterest toolbar button which installs on your internet browser. It allows a user to click on the button when they see a picture of anything they like on any website and capture the image and upload it on their boards. Finally, to post original work users can simply upload their own pictures from their desktops.

Example of a Public Pinterest Board

Who uses it?

People from high school-aged to those in the work force use Pinterest in different ways. Teenagers can use the online bulletin boards to have collections of perhaps possible furniture to put in their college dorms to maximize space, or a board of inspirational quotes to start out their day, or a board of yummy recipes to try out. People in the business world can use Pinterest to actually sell their products! This is an efficient way to make their brand known because the more repins on their pictures, the more “SEO (search engine optimization) juice” they get on Pinterest which allows more people to see their product. Repins always link back to the original person who uploaded the picture. Interior designers can use Pinterest to see how different color schemes work in different rooms with furniture, or architectures can lay out all their floor plans.

Pinterest is a great way to visually promote businesses as well as being a fun and unique way of blogging for those interested in photography.

Mackenzie is a Sophomore Honors student at St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio. She enjoys writing, theater, volunteering for social justice causes and plays Field Hockey and Lacrosse for the St. Ursula Bulldogs. She plans on majoring in Bio-Medical Engineering in college.

One thing that is consistent about social media is that it is constantly changing! It’s practically a full-time job just to keep up with these changes and process them into workable ways for a business to capitalize on reaching their intended target audience more effectively.

Today, I am sharing a quick tip that will make your Facebook Page more effective and boost your ability to be found online in search.

Here’s the tip:

Setting a personalized URL (PURL) for your Facebook Page

What does this mean?

Right click on your Facebook Page name and take a look at the URL or web address. Does it list your name and a series of numbers like this:

If it does, you need to set it to a proper address. It will be helpful from an SEO (search engine optimization) stand point, as well as be a more concise web address for you to promote on your print marketing materials.

See this link to learn how to set your URL. Be aware that Facebook has recently reinstated the 25 Likes Rule for PURLS. This means that you MUST have 25 Likes (Fans) before the PURL can be set.

Additionally, your Page name does not have to match exactly with your PURL. Take a look at this Juvenile Diabetes example:

They opted for the smaller name for the PURL and in their profile banner (myJDRF), but chose the full name in the Page Title in order to take advantage of the key words: juvenile, foundation, research and diabetes as key search terms.

If you work for the biz or org of the Facebook Page, then make sure to add the link in the Info Tab of your Facebook Personal Profile. So many people don’t realize that they have inadvertently connected a hyper-link to the community page for the business or organization and not the REAL Facebook Page.

If you need help with setting your Facebook PURL and Name, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 513-445-2180. We are always happy to assist you!

My name is Michelle Beckham and I’m a Google+ Addict…..Seriously, I feel like an explanation is in order. Since I cleared the Google+ Invite-only list less than two weeks ago, I have submerged myself on a journey of discovery of this new social media application. I have been swimming in the beta test waters with other high end, social media savvy early adopters and I am loving every minute of it!

Google+ Welcome Screen

Google+ has now become the first thing I look at in the morning vs. Email followed by Facebook. Having the Android App on my Motorola Droid also helps to fuel my 24/7 ( ok, I do sleep occasionally…..) addiction. iPhone users just received the app this week, giving Android users a bit of a leg up initially.

These are the reasons why I am waxing poetic about Plus:

Gives me the ability to use Circles to group people for targeted content

Allows me to connect with ANYONE similar to the Follow concept on Twitter

Allows for in-depth discussion within the comments section similar to the wonderful dialogue that occurs in LinkedIn Groups like Authentic Leadership Cincinnati and Facebook Groups, like Cincinnati Social Media

Allows for video conferencing with anyone online and willing to chat with you. These spaces are known as Hangouts.

Allows me to control my photos/albums more closely

Gives me the ability to keep those “back yard bbq conversations” that occur on Facebook with close friends and family separate from business colleagues, clients or others that just don’t need to be connected in a “Friends of Friends” way to your family or kids.

The downside is that since I am such an information junkie, I think I could swim in this sea all day long, just soaking up the content and the conversations. I want to reign myself in, but the competitive side in me wants to master as much as I can before the dyke is opened and the world gains entry.

I have applied to be a business beta tester for C3: Creating Connections Consulting and think that Google + will have huge implications for how companies/brands interact via this platform. While Google is asking that businesses hold off on creating a Google Profile, some have jumped into the ocean already: Huffington Post,Mashable, CBS News, to name a few.

I have a few invitations left, so if you are curious and want to join ahead of the fray, just post your email addy in the comments section below and I will get you started on a whole new way of sharing.

Oh, and I would LOVE to connect with you on Plus. Just follow the link to find my new hide-out!